I would like to thank the tremendous response for the
``Finite Element People'' message I posted last week.
The list now includes almost 100 names and the page has
received several hundreds of hits in its first week.
Thank you also for the e-mails of encouragement to set
this up!
I would like to take this opportunity to explain further
that the Finite Element People home-page located at:

http://www-math.cudenver.edu/~lfranca/links/fem_people.html

was created to collect the personnal web pages of people
that use/develop/improve/analyze finite element methods in
several applications.
In order to have your name included, you need first to
have a personnal web page, second to hold a PhD degree or
equivalent, and third have some evidence in your page that
you use/develop/improve/analyze finite element methods in
several applications.
Many distinguished colleagues are not listed because I was
unable to find their home-pages (most likely they do not
exist). If you feel you should be included try to have
a friend, a colleague, your system administrator set up
a personal web page for you. Then send me your URL address
(ie, your web page address) for inclusion. We all want to
see your smile!

This is to announce the publication of my book "The Numerical
Solution of Integral Equations of the Second Kind". The first six
chapters cover integral equations of the second kind in which the
integral operator is compact. The final three chapters discuss the
numerical solution of boundary integral equation reformulations of
Laplace's equation, in both two and three dimensions.

The book has been published by Cambridge University Press, and their
web page for the book (including ordering information) is located at
http://www.cup.org/Titles/58/0521583918.html
The book is published in the series "Cambridge Monographs on Applied
and Computational Mathematics", and its ISBN number is 583918.

My own web page for the book is located at
http://www.math.uiowa.edu/~atkinson/book.html
This web page contains links to the complete table of contents and to
the bibliography for the book (both taken from the manuscript). The
book is approximately 550 pages in length.

A web page for the conference in honor of Olof Widlund's 60th birthday,
to be held at the Courant Institute Jan 23-24, 1998, is now available at
http://www.math.nyu.edu/phd_students/stefanic/olof98.html

Travel support for a few young investigators and/or Ph.D. students may
be available: see the web page for details. Posters announcing the
conference will be available at the SIAM National Meeting at Stanford
this week: contact me or the registration desk to receive one. Everyone
is welcome at the conference; there will be no parallel sessions and
no registration fee. To register, send email to olof98@cims.nyu.edu.

The conferences INTERVAL'XX are significant meetings devoted to various
aspects of reliable numerical computations based on the interval approach.
(Sometimes the terms validated numerics, localizational computations, or
enclosure methods are used). Talks are devoted to development of
corresponding mathematical structures, design of computer tools, and
applications in a wide range of areas.

The first conference was held in September 1992 near Moscow, with impressive
success. The INTERVAL'94 conference emphasized interdisciplinary research with
computer algebra. INTERVAL'96 was focused on computer assisted proofs ranging
from symbolic computation through rigorous error estimation, and including different
paradigms such as functional and logic programming as well as solution of
constraint systems.

INTERVAL'98 will emphasize the application of interval mathematics
and its combination with the interdisciplinary topics from the
two preceding meetings in global optimization. Especially welcome
are contributions which use interval arithmetic tools for solving
problems of practical relevance.

TOPICS

The following topics will be considered: interval mathematics, hardware and
software for interval and computer-algebraic methods, SC-languages, logic
constraint programming, interval modelling, interval constraints, computer
aided proofs in analysis, interval algorithms in control theory,
organization of symbolic-numeric interfaces, programming environments for
scientific computing, and applications in various fields of science and
engineering as well as commercial issues.

This conference is to provide a forum for mathematical scientists
to present their latest research on various areas, and aims to
bring senior scientists and young researchers together for personal
interaction and dialogue.

Scientific Program:

The program will consist of one-hour plenary talks, half-hour invited
talks and 20-minute contributed talks on a wide range of topics which include

Over 120 scientists from 20 countries met at the hotel Devet Skal in
Milovy (literally ``Nine Rocks") near the Bohemian-Moravian Highlands
(Central part of the Czech Republic). About half the participants were
from the Czech Republic and the United States. The rest came from almost
every (Eastern and Western) European country as well as Turkey, and Israel.
All enjoyed the moderate weather, the wonderful atmosphere of camaraderie,
and the lake view (and a few even dared a swim in it).

The meeting was supported by the U.S. National Science Foundation and
the Czech Ministry of Education. Graduate student and young Ph.D. paper
competitions were held in both countries. Over a dozen winners attended
the workshop and presented their work. These, and other young participants
could be seen engaging in lively conversations until very late hours.

The structure of the program, i.e., plenary sessions in the mornings,
parallel sessions in the late afternoons, with early afternoons and
evenings free, gave the possibility of one-to-one and small groups
discussions. Everyone seem to have liked this, which together with the
high-quality of the talks, the location, the good humor of the
participants, and the smoothness of the local arrangements, made the
meeting a great success. This fact convinced the organizers to try
to hold a similar event in three years.

The speakers of the plenary sessions with the titles of their talks were:

The complete program can be found in
http://www.uivt.cas.cz/~miro/impc97/impc97.html
and the booklet of abstracts is still available upon request
(impc97@uivt.cas.cz).
A special issue of Numerical Linear Algebra with Applications will
contain some of the papers presented at the Workshop (with the usual
refereeing process). Roland Freund and Ivo Marek are the editors of the
special issue.

On Wednesday afternoon, an excursion was organized to Litomysl, a
thousand-year-old town, with many baroque buildings and preserved
market squares.
On Thursday evening, during an emotional ceremony and speaches
given by Ivo Marek and Karel Segeth, three awards were
presented: The Bolzano Medal, the highest honor from the Academy of Sciences,
to Anne Greenbaum, and two Commemorative medals from the School of
Mathematics and Physics of Charles University (turning 650 years old this
year) to Olof B. Widlund and Daniel B. Szyld.

Please post the following open position advertisement. Please let me know
what other information you will need from me.

University of Michigan - Department of Mathematics - The Department
expects to have several tenure eligible or tenured positions available, to
begin in September 1998. Several are part of an interdisciplinary/applied
initiative, including numerical analysis and actuarial science. Besides
this initiative, the Department is searching broadly for individuals who
would significantly broaden and strengthen areas currently represented and
who cut across areas. Some preference will be given to candidates in
algebraic number theory and topology. Exceptional research and teaching
experience required. Rank and salary negotiable. Applicants should send a
curriculum vitae, description of research and teaching and have three
letters of recommendation sent to: J.B. Rauch, Chair, Department of
Mathematics, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1109.
Applications received by November 30, 1997, will be assured full
consideration. Additional information is available on the departmental
home page at http://www.math.lsa.umich.edu. The University of Michigan is
a nondiscriminatory affirmative action employer.

The Scientific Computing Group (CIC-19) at Los Alamos National Laboratory is
currently seeking highly motivated Ph.D. graduates to participate in
the Post Doctoral Fellowship program. Graduates with experience in any
or all of the following categories are encouraged to apply:

Experience with Fortran 90, HPF and MPI on parallel machines such as
the Cray T3E, IBM SP-2, SGI/Cray Origin 2000 and workstation clusters is
desirable. Experience with iterative linear solver methods such
as conjugate gradient methods, incomplete Cholesky preconditioners and
multigrid methods is also desirable.

A Ph.D. completed within the last three years or soon to be completed is
required. Appointments have a duration of two years, with the possibility
of extension for a third year.

To receive fullest consideration for all fellowship possibilities, we must
receive your application as soon as possible. Interested individuals are
encouraged to send a copy of their resume by e-mail, fax, or U.S. mail to:

The SFB 382 at the University of Tuebingen (which
is a large research group financed by the German National
Science Foundation DFG and is devoted to scientific computing
in physics) invites applications for a postdoctoral position
in numerical mathematics. Candidates should show a strong
research potential and will get the opportunity to build up
their own group. Salary is above that of an assistant
professor in Germany. The advertisement is as follows:

TWO POST-DOCTORIAL POSITIONS at the
INSTITUTE OF MATHEMATICS and
RESEARCH CENTER ON CONTROL AND OPTIMIZATION
KARL FRANZENS UNIVERSITAET GRAZ, AUSTRIA.

Within the Research Center on Control and Optimization
at the Institute of Mathematics at the University of Graz,
Austria there are two openings for post-doctorial positions.
Requirements: University degree in mathematics
Qualifications: Solid knowledge of numerical analysis,
partial differential equations, optimization, UNIX, and
for position one: fluid mechanics
for position two: inverse problems, (possibly image reconstruction).

Applications are invited for a research position (Numerical Analysis) at
IMS&CBS, University of Kent, to work with Dr. Wenbin Liu on an EPSRC research
project "Adaptive finite element approximation of some degenerate
quasilinear systems".

Applicants should have a Ph.D. in numerical analysis and are expected to
have good knowledge on theoretical aspects of finite element approximation
of PDEs. Applicants should also have good
working experience in Fortran programming of finite element methods.

The research fellow is expected to develop and implement new a posteriori
error estimators for a class of degenerate nonlinear systems such as the
p-Laplacian.

The position is available for 20 months. The salary will start with 16920
pounds sterling.

Inquires and applications with C.V. and the names of two referees should
be sent to

Information on all issues of the Journal of Global Optimization is
available via the World Wide Web at the following URL:
gopher://gopher.wkap.nl/11gopher_root%3A%5B_journal._jrnl.jogo%5D
JOGO is published by Kluwer Academic Publishers: http://www.wkap.nl